PHR today expressed support for the Center for Constitutional Rights' (CCR) efforts to file two criminal complaints against Former President George W. Bush. The complaints request the General Prosecutor of the Canton of Geneva to open a preliminary investigation and possible
prosecution against Bush for his sanction of the torture of terrorism suspects, which the complaints allege were in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT).

Following widespread support of the CCR’s efforts, President Bush has cancelled his upcoming trip to Switzerland.

"The cancellation of President Bush’s trip to Switzerland demonstrates that the international human rights community has a voice in this process and that our efforts to call for justice and accountability are not falling on deaf ears," said Frank Donaghue, CEO of Physicians for Human Rights. "As a next step, we must demand accountability at home. Right now President Bush can avoid prosecution by avoiding Switzerland. We need the same outcry on our own soil so that there is no refuge from justice for those who sanctioned torture."

PHR has a long history of calling for the accountability and independent investigation of all officials involved in the authorization and implementation of torture and unethical human experimentation. Most recently, PHR released Experiments in Torture, a comprehensive investigation of health professionals' involvement in the CIA's "enhanced" interrogation program (EIP), which uncovered evidence that
the Bush administration conducted illegal and unethical human experimentation and research on detainees in CIA custody.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.